the Sins of the Stomache... - Thursday, December 6 2007

pretty sure it's been a record time since my last post, but i've just been so lazy...and too many things happening to take in and contemplate all at once...so yeah. but that's not what i'm talking about right now. all of you who are hoping for a lengthy, detailed/interesting update about crazy kids and other adventures of mine here in Moriguchi...sorry. all i'm jotting down here is a sort of "milestone" (at least i think it is).

let me get to the point...

i can't remember the last time i ate a chip. no, not fries (for any of you British folks), the baked/crispy/flakey potato snacks that come in vacuum-sealed plastic bags. yeah, those things. Doritos, Lays, Old Dutch, Miss Vickie's, Pringles, etc...

now i'm not a health freak, i've just always tried to eat sensibly while allowing myself (very) occasional junkfood binge. well, there's no shortage of junkfood here in Japan, but i haven't been able to find a lot of chips/snack foods readily available all the time. that's probably half the reason why we eat them as often as we do anyway; just b/c they're "there". right in front of the cash register at the supermarket, in a handy vending machine outside the office, etc.

i probably haven't eaten a bag of chips for a good 6 months, just b/c they're just not anywhere that catches my eye when i go grocery shopping, they're stashed away in some middle aisle on the bottom shelf or something. but TODAY...oh something in my tummy just craved for the crispy, savory taste of some chips. and i caved.

i bought 2 bags.



mmmm, they're not as good as chips in Canada i think, not as crunchy, but they'll do for now...

itadakimasu!

still kickin'...Wednesday, August 15 2007

wow, over a month since my last post eh? seems i've almost given up on this place...haha, almost. so many thoughts, changes, reflections, good things, not-so-good things (but thankfully no "bad" things, at least i think not...), episodes, quirky stories...blablabla...i must be really getting old. or, just lazy.

let's see what i can remember from the past little while:

BK came to visit (first time we've chilled in a bloody decade!) that was cool, BQ came to visit not long after that, then i took off to Vietnam to meet Bert. saw Saigon, Dalat, Nha Trang, Da Nang, and Hoi An before coming "home" for 1 more week of school to end off 4 months "enlightening" minds at Daiyon JHS. my goodbye speech went fairly well i think...my final words were something like "study hard, but don't forget to take time to have fun; eat meat, and don't forget to eat bananas!"

mom came to visit just after that ended too; good time to catch up, took a nice little trip to Nagasaki, Hiroshima, and Miyajima too. what else...welcomed to 2 new Aussie JETs to our "hood". they'll love this place in no time i'm sure. oh right, and i just went to this little concert on Sunday...a little gig they have every year in Osaka known as Summer Sonic. my line-up: Gym Class Heroes, 30 Seconds to Mars, Gwen Stefani, Avril Lavigne, Goo Goo Dolls, Ellegarden, Travis.

uhh...i'd put more pics up but i'm lazy. this is all you'll get for now:



Me: dammit! knew i should've brought Yurika...(Miyajima - August 2007)












p.s. Yurika's my guitar.

i'm baack...

(well, sort of.)

take a break...Wednesday, June 13 2007

i was drinking some cold tea in the staff room this afternoon when i looked out the window onto the sidewalk; i saw a little girl riding, "teetering" along the sidewalk while her mother (presumably) walked along behind her pushing her own separate unicycle.

yes, that's right.

unicycle.

what kind of whacky town is this anyway? where you have grown men dressed up as watermelon, and kids riding unicycles through the streets?!







i like this place.

the funny thing about Japan... - Saturday, May 19 2007

sometimes, it's best to just not ask questions and accept the fact that you'll never quite understand why people here do the things that they do:

makes you wonder... - Tuesday, May 8 2007











gee, the things i do for fun sometimes =P

Remembering - Wednesday, May 2 2007

it's been one year since that night.

i hopped on my bike after a swim at the pool, and rode through the falling darkness as the light faded. chased my shadow across the city from West to East, so i could see you. i played music by your bedside that night, for what would be the last time. i eventually ended up at home later, after a detour to find some solitude in the darkness. but even then, i couldn't sleep. not before i let it out.

a song for Grandma:

goodbye, we've said farewell
time flies, i know it all too well

goodbye, i know you've gone home
and i won't cry, because i know you're not alone

i close my eyes and see you once again
the Saviour's hand is resting, on your head

i understand,
i know it's not the end
it's just a little holiday,
until the day i see you once again...

your smile, in my heart i'll always treasure
these memories, they stay with me forever

you're resting now, in a place that knows no sorrow
your faith has healed you know,
that's how i face tomorrow

i thank you for the years you cared for me
and i rest in knowing that,
your spirit's free

i understand,
i know it's not the end
it's just a little holiday,
until the day i see you once again...

i know one day i'll see you once again

i understand

~05/02/2006


Love always.

Decisions - Sunday, April 15 2007

so today, i was in a place where decisions are made every day. life-altering decisions that affect our every-day lives.


i came along two enticing and attractive choices.


i had to make a seldom necessary, but very important decision. it wasn't the easy type; where you could just take the lesser of two evils, or the kind where the consequences are forgettable either.



no. this was a biggie.








dammit, which one to pick?!?



finally after much contemplation (of course)...i made what i think, was the right decision.


i walked away.




















with both.




itadakemasu!

i'm baaack... - Saturday, April 7 2007



oiy..."home" at last. just a note to mark my return from 9 days scouring Honshu which included:

-good times catching up w/ people
-conversations w/ drunken Nihonjins under the cherry blossoms
-wandering through a bamboo grove on a mountain-side
-a search for the legendary "himitsu bakko"
-playing guitar on Miho beach while looking up at Mount Fuji




...and then some. i also received an inspiring book; finished it, and exchanged it for another one.

i'm sure i've learned a lot while being on this trip; conversations, time spent alone, time spent absorbing/marveling over the landscape/culture...but my brain hasn't told me how to say it yet.

one thing i do know though; i'm developing a killer grip from hauling Yurika around with me all over the place.

why couldn't i have learned to play something small and light, like a flute? O_o

Sashiburi... - Saturday, March 3 2007

whoa...someone needs to update eh?

nyeh, maybe later. just another dated pic for now:



(Spending the night at Yokohama Harbour - January 1, 2007)

going to Church tomorrow. should be interesting.

on a sidenote: this is something totally unrelated to Nihon, but it's pretty sweet so i thought i'd share.



the moral of the story?





4 strings is all you really need.

(oh, and "sashiburi" is Osaka-ben (slang) for 'long-time-no-see'. just so you know.)

this is for anyone who didn't believe the last post about Mayumi (yes, she has a name) letting me touch her monkey:





















(he's from Thailand, and his name's Kai.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

From Tokyo... - Wednesday, February 7 2007

she let me touch her monkey.

stalled... - Monday, January 29 2007

uuyy, many thoughts/"stuffs" that i'd like to write about, but Time...

hard to find, it is... O_o

eh, it'll come sooner or later. but in the meantime, back in the "real" world...













...my fascination with garbage cans continues. as of Sunday, i'm proud to be the owner of this vessel that Oscar himself would be happy to call home.


more visitors in a week. this time i need to figure out some sort of arrangement that will avoid me having to sleep like this again:





let's hope...

Chasing Cars... - Wednesday, January 10 2006




after 2 weeks of spontaneous holiday travelling, it feels a little weird not having ridden a train in 3 days.


(Nagoya)

broadcasting to resume shortly...



(Yokohama)

mEtcha tsukareta... - Wednesday, January 3 2006

the last 10 days have been another whirlwind, come and gone. geographics: Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Nagoya, and Yokohama. wow, Osaka actually feels a bit more like "home" now.

i hope i'll be able to write down some thoughts about my impressions of these places and "happenings" eventually, but right now my fridge is in dire need of replenishment. that, and i also need to water my flowers.

yes, i have flowers.



a farwell gift from my school. they smell nice.

alright, i need to get a move on. only a few days left before i'll have an entirely new bunch of nihon gakusei to deal w/ so i'd best use them to recover. blogging will just have to wait.


ok fine, i can't resist. just ONE pic (as a preview), and only b/c she's cute:

Kevin Costner had his "Dances with Wolves"...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


...and i had my "Dances with Deer"
(Nara, Dec. 26 2006)

coming soon: Homeless for the Holidays

ja ne...

*Edit: crap...i threw these pics together weeks ago, but i forgot about 'em. guess it's better late than never, but just a little chronological review of the past little while here in Japan:

a Chotto Review